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Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses '''were a series of conflicts between two cadet branches of the Plantagenet dynasty, the Houses of Lancaster and York. The name of the conflict comes from the symbols adopted by the two houses - the House of Lancaster was represented by a red rose, whilst the House of York was represented by a white rose. Eventually, the war eliminated the male-line of the Lancastrians with the deaths of Henry VI and his son, Edward of Westminster. The ascension of Edward IV in 1461 marked the intiial Yorkist victory. The defection of the Earl of Warwick in 1469, however, led to the restoration of the Lancastrian King Henry VI for little over seven months between 1470 and 1471. After the Yorkist Edward IV returned to England, Henry VI was put to death - this led to the end of the House of Lancaster. From then, the Lancastrian claim was inherited by a minor Welsh nobleman named Henry Tudor, who received the claim through his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort (a descendant of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster.) Henry Tudor's invasion in 1485 led to the decisive Battle of Bosworth Field between the forces of the young King Edward V and Tudor, which was a massive victory for Yorkist forces. This would ultimately lead to the end of the war. The war had a devastating impact on England and its society. It wiped out an entire royal house as well as also leading to the deaths of many members of the House of York, including two of King Edward IV's brothers. However, after the war had subsided, the reign of Edward V saw the reconstruction of the kingdom with a new era of prosperity and open-mindedness. Edward V's reign is seen to have marked the beginning of the English Renaissance, which changed English society in ways that had not been seen before. On the death of Henry Tudor, the Lancastrian claim passed to his Beaufort relatives - who, after a few failed uprisings, surrendered the Lancastrian claim and gave up the cause. This led to the House of York ruling uncontested as Kings of England and Ireland, as the last remaining branch of the Plantagenet dynasty, which has been on the throne since 1154 with the ascension of Henry II. Background '''Disputed Succession King Edward III, a long-reigned and visionary king of the Plantagenet dynasty, had five sons. The most prominent of these were: Edward, the Black Prince; John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. By birth order, the House of Lancaster was the senior cadet branch of the Platagenet dynasty, due to John of Gaunt being the elder brother of Edmund of Langley. However, the second son of Edward III was Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, who had one daughter: Philippa. It was argued by some that duke to Clarence's seniority over both Lancaster and York, as well as England's acceptance of the ascension of a female line to the throne, that her descendants would have a more just and rightful claim to the English throne. Philippa's granddaughter, Anne Mortimer, married the Yorkist Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge. Anne Mortimer became the last descendant of Philippa, which meant that the senior claim of Lionel of Antwerp passed through her. The son of Richard and Anne became Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York. It was on this basis of matrilineal descent from Lionel of Antwerp, as well as his patrilineal descent from Edmund of Langley, that Richard was able to claim the throne with a large amount of legality in opposition to the Lancastrians. Prior to the Lancastrian Kings, however, Richard II reigned. Richard II was the only son of the Black Prince, which made him the most senior grandchild of Edward III and thus the direct heir following the death of his father. Richard II ascended to the throne upon King Edward's death in 1377. Reign and Deposition of Richard II Richard II (b. 1367, d. 1400) became King of England and Lord of Ireland in 1377, following the death of King Edward III. Ascending at the age of ten, a large amount of political turmoil unsurprisingly came in the earliest years of his reign. Firstly, a peasant revolt led by a certain Wat Tyler began which brought chaos to England. John of Gaunt's Savoy Palace was burned to the ground and the Archbishop of Canterbury was murdered alongside the King's Lord High Treasurer. By this time, Richard II was still fourteen-years-old, being sheltered in the Tower of London. It was said that the young King personally met the peasants and dispersed the revolt. He did, however, revoke the charters that he had granted within a week. WIP